What will I do to make a difference?

I'm a big online shopper. As a working mother of two active children it's the best thing since sliced bread. I've even started to buy my groceries online. Who doesn't love grocery delivery, right? I take these conveniences for granted and sometimes even take advantage of these conveniences. For example, last night after my kids were in bed I switched on my computer and not only placed my grocery order for the week, I also started my holiday gift shopping. By 9:30 I was feeling pretty good about my purchases and my efficient use of time. I then decided to pay bills - something I also do online. After logging on, I noticed we had a new electric bill and after clicking on it I was shocked into silence.

$485

Yikes! It's not even winter yet. How on earth could our bill be so high and what is our bill going to look like in January?

Electricity is expensive and I take it for granted. Which brings me to a question that I am embarrassed I have not asked myself in a very long time, what can I do to make a difference? In college and when I was "younger" I used to give back to my community and then I had kids and I got "busy" and stopped. I know, that's a lame excuse. So a better question to ask myself is, what will I do to make a difference?

I didn't have to look far to find out how I can do more. From nutrition programs for children to job training for adults and affordable housing for families, the Sodexo Foundation supports hunger-related initiatives on local, state, and national levels.There are easy ways to donate like Sodexo's payroll deduction program. This a no brainer. Donating just $1 a week can provide summer meals for two children through our Feeding Our Future program and donating just $2 a week can provide 148 meals to be distributed at a local food bank.

By donating just a little more ($5 a week) I can help two people complete a culinary job training program organized by America's Second Harvest. In this program, unemployed people are trained in food rescue and meal preparation. With this training, they create meals that are served to people in need. Courses are taught by professional chefs and include life-skills and job-readiness training, as well as placement in career-track positions in the food service industry. Sodexo not only supports America's Second Harvest's efforts and funds individual Community Kitchen programs with grants, but we also hire many of the program's qualified graduates.

Like I said, donating money is a no brainer. I've already faxed in my voluntary deduction form today. I'm only sorry I didn't do this sooner.

But I can make an even larger impact by setting a better example for my children. So many of us take for granted food and shelter. My children included. I'm doing them a disservice by not showing them how easy it is to help people who need help. So I called our local food bank this afternoon to see how give back to your community and as it turns out there is a shelter not 5 miles away where we can volunteer as a family. Not exactly sure what we'll be doing but I'm sure a little bit of time and a lot of compassion will go a long way.

What about you? Any plans to give back to your community this holiday season?